// A letter from Adeo Ressi
We're becoming the world's largest AI-native company builder. Here's what's changing, and why the next twelve months are the best time in history to start a company.
You are the flame. We are the spark.
// The moment we're in
We're at a moment in history that is genuinely unique. Everything has changed, and I don't think most people realize how much. I'm in the thick of it every day, and even I don't fully appreciate how much has already shifted.
It's easier to do things now. Much faster. You can do things that were flatly impossible a year ago, including building a billion-dollar company as a single person.
Moments like this don't last. Once everyone understands the change and the playbooks are widely known, the opportunity gets commoditized. Right now, it's wide open.
Where does the Founder Institute fit in? We take top talent from zero to one: from a job and an idea to a real company. That's been our specialty since 2009. Now we're on a mission to be the solo-corn and unicorn creator.
I think more single-founder unicorns will be started in 2026 than in any other year in history. There will be unicorns with normal teams, and a whole new group of "solo corns": unicorns built by one person.
…and it's already starting to happen
You don't have to take my word for it. Two companies, both essentially one person, both impossible three years ago.
Base44
Maor Shlomo · solo, bootstrapped
250,000
Users at acquisition
OpenClaw
Peter Steinberger · no team, no funding
250,000
GitHub stars in ~60 days
You?
Founder · solo, AI-native
Base44 and OpenClaw are independent companies with no Founder Institute affiliation; they're here as proof of what a single founder can now build. Sources: TechCrunch (Base44/Wix, June 2025); GitHub star history via openclaw.report; Wikipedia (OpenClaw).
AI-powered
The five big changes
Talk is cheap. Here's what we're actually changing at the Founder Institute: five things, effective now.
// Why now
Windows like this don't stay open
I'd love to tell you this opportunity lasts forever. In my experience with the internet and mobile, these windows stay open for one, two, maybe three years. In those moments, enormous value is created by people who previously didn't have the opportunity or the access. Then the playbooks spread, and it gets commoditized.
-
1995
The internet window (closed)
A bookstore becomes Amazon.
-
2007
The mobile window (closed)
An app store mints a generation of companies.
-
2026 Open now
The agentic window
One person can build a unicorn. This one's yours.
The gold rush is happening right now. The obvious ideas will be taken quickly. Take your shot.
You have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do things that were previously impossible. Take your shot. Be the flame. We'll be the spark.
// FAQ